Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· A Palestinian was killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

· A Palestinian died from a wound he had sustained during an
extra-judicial execution attempt carried out by IOF.

· 17 Palestinians, including 8 children, were wounded by IOF.

· IOF carried out 2 extra-judicial executions against
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but they failed.

· IOF conducted 21 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 3 ones into the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 34 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

· IOF razed at least 100 donums[1]
of agricultural land and destroyed a number of civilian facilities in the
northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

· IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and
a humanitarian crisis has emerged.

· Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
have been denied access to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

· IOF troops arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including a
child, at checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF confiscated at least 1,130 donums of Palestinian land
in East Jerusalem to construct new sections of the Annexation Wall.

· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and
property.

· IOF started to establish a road for settlers inside
Palestinian communities in the north of Jerusalem.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (4 – 10 October 2007):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, while another one died from a previous wound n
the West Bank. In addition, they wounded 17 Palestinians, including 8 children.
 

In the Gaza Strip, on
Friday morning, 5 October 2007, IOF killed a Palestinian near the border
between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of al-Maghazi refugee camp. The
victim was carrying a knife. During the reporting period, 7 Palestinian
civilians were wounded in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, 7 October 2007, IOF troops
wounded 2 Palestinian children in the east of Gaza City. Moreover, 5
Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded in 2 failed execution
attempts carried out by IOF.   

In the West Bank, on
Sunday morning, 7 October 2007, a Palestinian from Jenin refugee camp died from
a wound he had sustained on 25 August 2007, when IOF extra-judicially executed
2 Palestinians and wounded 3 others, including this victim.

On 4 October 2007, 2
Palestinian children were wounded by IOF during incursions into Palestinian
communities in the West Bank, and 3 civilians were wounded on 5 October 2007 when
IOF used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian
civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to
the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. On
10 October 2007, 3 Palestinian school children were wounded by IOF in
Qalqilya. Additionally, 2 Palestinian
civilians were wounded when IOF troops opened fire at a vehicle that was
transporting a number of workers.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 21 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 34 Palestinian civilians. Thus,
the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning
of this year has mounted to 2,091.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3
incursions into Rafah, Khan Yunis and Beit Hanoun towns on 10 October 2007.
During these incursions, IOF transformed a number of houses into military sites.
They also razed at least 100 donums of agricultural land and destroyed some
civilian facilitations.  

Annexation Wall: During the reporting period, IOF issued a military order confiscating
at least 1,130 donums of land in the Abu Dis and al-Sawahra villages, east of
Jerusalem, for the purpose of the construction of the eastern section of the
Wall around East Jerusalem. IOF gave the owner 21 days to appeal against the
order. The construction of this section of the Wall would cut off Jerusalem
from the rest of the West Bank and undermine the possibility of establishing a
viable Palestinian state. The construction of the Wall to the south, north and
east of Jerusalem is a part of a settlement project known as “Jerusalem Ring,”
whose length is nearly 50 kilometers.

Restrictions on Movement: Since Wednesday morning, 26 September 2007, IOF have imposed
a total siege on the OPT. IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the
OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

Gaza Strip

IOF
have imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have closed its border
crossings as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.

IOF have closed Rafah International
Crossing Point, even though they do not directly control it. They have
prevented European observers working at the crossing point form reaching it. IOF
had already closed Rafah International Crossing Point following an armed attack
against an IOF military post in Kerem Shalom area, southeast of Rafah, on 25
June 2006. The crossing point had been partially reopened for short, sporadic
periods to allow few numbers of Palestinian to travel through it. The crossing
point has been completely closed since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip and
the withdrawal of Palestinian security forces from the crossing point. There
are approximately 6,000 Palestinians held at the Egyptian side of the border
awaiting to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip. Most of them have run out
of money and are living on assistance. In addition, 19 of them have died in
Egypt. The bodies were returned to Gaza through the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem
Shalom) crossing. In addition, thousands of travelers were allowed to return to
the Gaza Strip through al-Ojah crossing, 8 kilometers southeast of Rafah. From
there, they were transported to Erez Checkpoint to enter the Gaza Strip.  IOF have also closed commercial
crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. IOF have continued to close
Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip
have been prevented from traveling through this crossing. 

West Bank

IOF have continued to
impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from
Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many
checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of
Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at
the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently beat Palestinian civilians who attempt
to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF have imposed additional
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the city since the
beginning of the holy Ramadan Month on Thursday, 13 September 2007. Although
IOF claimed that they would ease the restrictions on access to holy sites in
the city during the Ramadan Month, but they reinforced their presence at
various checkpoints on the roads leading to the city.

IOF have tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. They have isolated Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose
severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF also erected
more checkpoints on the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During
the reporting period, IOF arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child,
at checkpoints in the West Bank.

Settlement Activities: Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians
and property. IOF have continued to establish a settler road linking “Pisgat
Ze’ev” settlement, which was established on the lands of Beit Hanina and
Shu’fat suburbs, and “Ramot” settlement, which was established on the lands of
Lifta and Beit Eksa villages. The road also links the two settlements with the
highway leading to Tel Aviv inside Israel. For the purpose of the project, IOF
have leveled large areas of land and have demolished many houses and public
buildings, including two colleges and a school. The establishment of this road will lead to the closure of a number of
roads used by Palestinian civilians. It will cut off a church near Hazma
village with its housing compound, which consists of 6 apartment buildings,
where 36 Palestinian families live.  

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (4 – 10 October
2007)

The
full report is available PDF format.